Easy to get to trailhead. Unfortunately that was all that was easy. Started at 4am and that was a mistake. Took false trails 3 times in the dark. Most were near the stream crossings. Trails are not marked and had to really trust altimeter and map. Figured in the East if you are bushwhacking, you are off-trail. Even with daylight, coming down Chestnut Ridge I took a couple false trails. Finally did see a few trees with bark cut out as a blaze, but hard to see these, especially with a headlight in the dark. Temps were low 40s end of May. Coming down Chestnut ridge about half way down from Old Butt Knob, there is a nice lookout rock outcrop just off the trail to the right looking into Shining creek (maybe near 4200ft). At the top of Shining rock, trails were also not marked and there are numerous side and false trails. Mostly I just found the top by trial and error. Loop took me over 4.5 hrs from Big East Fork. At least 45 minutes were spent lost.

After descending Cold Mountain to Deep Gap, I continued up over The Narrows, Stairs Mountain, and then to Shining Rock. I stood on both rock outcrops, which look equally as high, although one had a cairn on top. I loved the white color of the rock in this area.

Woke up to rain in Shining Rock Gap; waited till noon and the sun finally came out and gave us a great look at a very beautiful place. I feel fortunate that we had the mountain to ourselves for the brief time we were there.

Actually the pictures on this page that are described as the summit, is not the summit. There are bigger quartz rocks at the very top of the mountain. The trails to them are very overgrown. Many people get confused as to where the location of the summit is.

Difficult to find, but if you're there on the weekend, just follow the crowd. Beautiful quartz outcrops. Shining Rock Gap has nice camp spots and water just to the south of the gap. The Art Loeb Trail north of the gap can be confusing to find. Remember: Take the farthest trail left from the gap going north.

We hiked Shining rock on a warm & windy Easter Eve. The trail was relatively good, however, once you enter the Shining Rock wilderness the myriad hiker trails can be confusing especially since the main trails are poorly marked (if at all). The views from the summit are stunning & the quartz outcroppings provide a nice place to relax before pushing on. From this outcropping one has a stunning view of Cold Mountain & the East Fork. The quartz formation located toward the center of the summit seems to be the highest point on the mountain. It is hard to tell because there is no summit marker. The hike from the Black Balsam Knob trailhead is realtively easy and the hike along the ridge provides some of the most incredable scenery on the east coast.

You may have been at the wrong summit. Most people mistake the summit on this mountain and never make it to the true summit. If you didn't bushwack for at least 7 - 10 minutes and swear you were lost 5 or 10 times, then you were at the wrong summit. Granted the quartz is just as plentiful in both locations, not being at the summit is probably why your GPS gave a different elevation.